An Elmira man's 2012 conviction for cocaine possession was reversed in a decision issued Thursday by the Third Judicial Department of the state Supreme Court's Appellate Division.

The outcome, however, will likely be that Thomas E. George, 37, will continue serving his parole, Chemung County District Attorney Weeden Wetmore said Friday.

George pleaded guilty in county court to fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and was subsequently sentenced to three years in prison with 1½ years of post-release supervision.

The appellate court ruled that a statement George made after police found cocaine in his jacket pocket should have been suppressed.

The circumstances surrounding his arrest, however, gave police a reasonable basis to conduct a strip search later at the police station, when more cocaine was discovered in a body cavity, the appellate court said.

Although the conviction is overturned, the indictment still remains outstanding, Wetmore said.

"We intend to prosecute this case. Without the statement, the case is still very strong. The statement was an admission that he had drugs on him, but as the appellate court said, we were going to find those drugs on him anyway. The search wasn't dependent on that statement," he said.

"I will probably offer him the same deal, which would be the three years in prison and the 1½ years of post-release supervision, should he plead," Wetmore said. "He'll probably get time served, and he'll simply continue on his parole."

George was a passenger during a traffic stop on West Third Street in February 2011 when he was arrested for felony drug possession. He was later indicted for third-degree possession of a controlled substance and faced a sentence of five to 25 years in prison.

The arresting officer testified that the vehicle's driver told him the two passengers might be involved in drug activity. The vehicle was searched, but no drugs were found. After George consented to a search, however, the officer found a clear plastic bag in his jacket containing a substance that tested positive at the scene for cocaine.

The other passenger told police that George might have additional drugs concealed in a body cavity.

Following the results of the field test, an officer told George that he hoped he didn't have any other narcotics on his person. George replied "No, I probably do," the statement at issue in the appeal.

Following a strip search of George at the police station, packets of cocaine were found in a body cavity.

County court was wrong to conclude that George's statement was a spontaneous response to the police officer's comment, the appellate court said. For a statement to be spontaneous, it must be self-generated without inducement, provocation, encouragement or acquiescence, the court said.

Since George had not been given any Miranda warnings at that point, the statement should have been suppressed as involuntary, the appellate court found.

The appellate court concluded, however, that the cocaine was not seized as a direct result of the suppressed statement. The circumstances of the arrest provided police with a reasonable basis to conduct a strip search, the court said.